Blog Tour: Paul Shortt with Memory War

If you've been around here long enough, you may remember Paul Shortt from his blog tours for Locked Within and Silent Oath. The final book of the trilogy, Memory War, has just been released, and Paul's here to talk about one of the key underlying mechanics for the series: reincarnation. Here's what he has to say about why he chose to go that direction for these books:

Reincarnation - The Ultimate Afterlife?

A major element of The Memory Wars is reincarnation. When I set out to write the first book, I knew I wanted to try something different with it. Typically, reincarnation is the purview of prophecies, the Chosen One, or fated lovers. I didn't want any of that.

No, in the world of The Memory Wars, reincarnation is as common as magic spells and vampires. It's just one more aspect of life. Granted, it comes with ideological conflict between those who view death and rebirth as the natural cycle, and those who fear that only a person's memories survive the process, and the vital essence of who they once were is lost forever.

To the former, the reborn and their conclaves, reincarnation is the chance to live a full life again. The chance to find lost friends, to experience new things. But of course, with that comes another lifetime suffering through the challenges and pain of a typical person's life. And that's to say nothing of the kinds of problems faced by more adventurous reborn like Nathan Shepherd.

So why would I call reincarnation the "ultimate" afterlife?

Let's consider how the afterlife is often represented in fiction. Two examples which spring to mind are Supernatural and Toy Story 3.

In Supernatural, Heaven is depicted as a place where each soul gets to relive their happiest memories. That seems nice, but there's definitely a finite number of happy memories to be experienced, depending on how happy someone's life was. And then there's the fact that most people who die seem to be unaware that they're in Heaven. It's more like a dream, where they don't realise it isn't real. In a sense, when good people die, most of them don't even know that they're being rewarded. But even for those who do, and for the rare few who manage to create a Heaven that's more than just a memory, they know it's not real. It's an illusion. Eternity being granted everything you could desire might sound nice, but eternity is a long time...

It might seem strange to bring a children's movie into this, but at its heart, Toy Story 3 is about death. It features several different stages of the afterlife, from the idea of limbo (the attic), purgatory or Hell (the daycare centre as we first find it), oblivion (the furnace), and finally the last two, Heaven (the daycare centre once Lotso has been removed) and reincarnation (when Woody and the others are left with Bonnie). We even see the potential for immortality (Woody's hope to go with Andy to college). Now, while Heaven is depicted as being pretty great, and everyone is happy and content, the happiest ending comes for the toys who are reincarnated. Even Woody gives up his chance at immortality, because it's not as fulfilling as getting to really live again. The toys have been through the worst, and they receive the greatest reward, experiencing active and fulfilling lives. Even the way some toys recall their previous owners echoes how the reborn in The Memory Wars remember their past lives.

Why would Heaven, ostensibly the greatest reward anyone can receive, always be tinged with a little bit of murk? I think the answer is simple.

Life is not all good or all bad. It is struggle and reward, together. Good things mean so much more to us when we've earned them, when we feel we deserve them. In order to do that, we have to overcome obstacles and challenges. While Heaven is amazing, life is better. And only reincarnation offers another chance at life. The secret is to make each life worth living.

This is something that Nathan Shepherd is forced to consider in Memory War. As his enemies amass their forces, he wonders why he should keep fighting, when there will always be someone else to fight, and even when he dies, he'll come back, just like his enemies, and the fight will begin all over again. Sometimes, the fight isn't about winning, it's about making sure the dark knows there will always be someone to stand against it.

About Memory War:

War is coming to New York. Nathan Shepherd's growing band of followers is dedicated to protecting the city, but they now face their greatest threat.

Athamar returns, plunging the city into chaos. Uniting the forces of darkness against Nathan and his allies, Athamar strives to discover a secret hidden for thousands of years. A secret lost to Nathan's memories. Something so dangerous, even the gods themselves fear it.

Nathan and Elena were once the greatest of heroes, champions against evil. Now, haunted by Nathan's past-life betrayal, they must work together and brave the pain of long-buried lifetimes. Somewhere, locked within their former incarnations, lies the key to stopping Athamar, an enemy who has hunted them from one incarnation to the next.

As the city burns and innocents suffer, as heroes fall and hope dies, Nathan and Elena face their final battle, a battle where legends will be reborn.

About Paul:

A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren’t enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life.

Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group.

He lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends.

The following year, Jen gave birth to twins, Amy and Erica. Their fourth child, Olivia, was born in January, 2014.

Connect with Paul on Facebook and Twitter, or on his blog.

The Challenges of Writing a Series

About a year ago, my friend Paul Shortt released his first novel, Locked Within. I participated in his blog tour then, and this year I have the pleasure of doing the same for Locked Within's sequel, Silent Oath. Today I have Paul here to talk about his experience with writing a series.

The Challenges of Writing a Series

As I’ve said before on this tour, I’d much rather read a series than a standalone novel. There’s so much scope for varied storylines and character development, that I always find I connect more with characters once I know there’s more to read ahead.

Of course, writing a series presents its own challenges.

The obvious challenge is working out a story for your sequel. It’s got to be different from the first, but not so out of left field that it no longer feels like it belongs in the series. But in getting through this stage, you soon realise that figuring out a plot was the easiest part of the whole process.

You see, it’s not enough to just come up with a halfway decent plotline. You also want to work out how your characters grow and develop. How their world has changed due to their actions in the previous book. How the events of the new book will set up events for the next.

Unless you’re writing a series of standalone novels that just feature the same characters, like a mystery writer may do at times, you’re better off considering the series itself as a single story. That way, you can be sure that the series will retain a cohesive arc, and the characters can all grow together naturally.

Of course, sometimes you don’t expect to continue a story past one book. Or, like me, you end up re-writing the next book in such a way that you completely overhaul your previous ideas. In these instances, you need to go back to the previous book(s) and really look at the theme and tone, to see what can carry over most naturally. That’s the key, you see. Making sure each installment flows naturally from the last.

The Locked Within Trilogy started out life as a planned 6-book series. I’m not sure why I figured 6 books was the ideal length. I wanted a long series, but I was afraid of the books running on and losing steam. So I put an arbitrary cap on how long I would allow the series to become. In the end, however, I change it to a much more manageable trilogy.

Which brings me to the next problem often faced when writing a series. Exactly how much do you think you can say about these characters? If you commit to 5 books, but really you can only come up with 2 or 3 books’ worth of story and character development, you will damage your work by trying to stretch it further. Many authors would love to make it big writing the next super-popular series, releasing a dozen books and looking forward to offers of movie or tv series adaptations.

However in an awful lot of cases, we see readers become jaded as a series drags on, or get so emotionally invested that no ending the writer comes up with will satisfy them. The old saying still applies. Kill your darlings, even if that darling is an entire book. I did it, and I am so grateful to my publisher for it, because I know that this trilogy is far stronger than it would have been if I’d stuck to my 6-book plan.

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Thanks, Paul! I know a lot of people (myself included) who are writing, or thinking of writing, a series. I'm sure we all appreciate the great comments!

If you would like to pick up Silent Oath for yourself, you can do so here.

About the book

Hope has returned to New York City. Nathan Shepherd leads a small band of dedicated fighters against the Council of Chains and the city's supernatural masters. But it's not enough. Because from the shadows of Nathan's former lives comes an old enemy, one who knows terrible secrets that Nathan has not yet remembered, secrets that could undo everything he has fought for.

Nathan's only chance to uncover the memories of his previous existence, and to conquer these new forces of evil, lies in Elena DeSantis. A woman he has fought beside in past lifetimes. A woman he has loved.

Together, Nathan and Elena are the only future the city has.

About Paul

A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren't enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life. Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group.

Paul lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends. The following year, Jen gave birth to twins, Amy and Erica, and is now expecting their fourth child.

Paul's first novel, Locked Within, was released on November 6th, 2012, by WiDo Publishing. Silent Oath is the second book in this urban fantasy trilogy.

You can connect with Paul on Facebook and Twitter: @PAShortt

Writing a Book Like a Movie

A few weeks ago I wrote a review of Locked Within by Paul Anthony Shortt. This month he's doing a blog tour to talk about the book, and today I have him here to discuss his methods for writing a vivid, action-packed scene in clear detail.

Without further ado, here's Paul!

Writing a Book Like a Movie

Thank you for having me on your blog, Audrey! I’ve loved reading your blog all this time since I started out way back in 2010. Seems like a lifetime ago.

I’m an extremely visual person. Even when listening to music, I can’t help but picture a scene in my head, whether it’s from a movie that used the music, or a scene I’ve come up with for a story of my own. Early on in my efforts to become a published author, I used this tendency to help craft my book.

When I write, I imagine the scene in my head, like I’m watching a movie. I’ll spend weeks imagining and choreographing key scenes in my mind, listening to music to keep me in the mood. Then, when I get to that point in my writing, I know I have the scene already set.

This is perhaps one of the most useful tools I have, and it was invaluable when writing Locked Within. It’s actually a pretty simple process. Starting with a character, I pick an actor who could “play” the part, and keep that image firmly in mind while I write that character’s actions, thoughts and dialogue. I find it helps keep a unique and consistent personality throughout the story.

The same applies for setting scenes and describing locations. I use Google Maps and its Streetview feature as my “location scout” in this regard. Keeping photos of the location, or a suitable stand-in, helps me visualise the scene precisely and pass that detail on for the reader. Believe me, just having a few details set in stone for you, like the colour of a storefront sign or height of a wall, can add a whole new dimension to your writing. It may not make it to the final draft, but having that knowledge ready while you write, I feel, gives your description a depth and focus that the reader will, in some way, appreciate.

I love action scenes. They’re some of my favourite scenes to write. Having a firm concept of what happens in the scene and where all the pieces go as the scene progresses is essential. There’s nothing worse than your character taking the same action twice in the middle of a fight, or pulling out a weapon that they’d dropped on the previous page. In cases like these, an ability to properly picture the scene in your imagination is crucial. Again, think like the director of a movie. You’re shooting the scene. Make sure your actors are in the right positions and they have all the props they need.

The time you take to plan these scenes out may delay your actual writing, but believe me, it will pay off. If nothing else, knowing in advance where all your pieces are going to move will help keep your writing consistent.

Another advantage to writing like your book is a movie comes from pacing and plot structure. Movie audiences are impatient. They have two hours to take in an entire story. That leaves comparatively little time to set the scene and introduce characters. Today’s readers are quite similar. Gone are the days of 400-page novels with 100 pages of world building and character introduction before the action starts.

Agents and publishers know that most potential readers will flick through the first ten pages or so, either in the bookshop or the sample pages on the likes of Amazon. If those ten pages don’t grab the reader, they’ll put the book down and check out something else. Learn from the great movie makers. Make those ten pages count. Work hard. Make each word gold. Write an opening so engaging, so seductive, that the reader won’t want to wait until they’ve bought the book to keep going. If you can set your scene, your characters, and a hint at the story to come in those first few pages, you’ll hook your readers for sure.

About Locked Within:
The supernatural realm and the mundane world have existed side by side since the dawn of time. Predators walk the streets, hidden by our own ignorance. Once, the city of New York was protected, but that was another age.

Now a creature emerges from the city's past to kill again, with no one to hear the screams of its victims. The lost and the weak, crushed under the heels of the city's supernatural masters, have given up hope.

But one man finds himself drawn to these deaths. Plagued by dreams of past lives, his obsession may cost him friends, loved ones, even his life. To stop this monster, he must unlock the strength he once had. He must remember the warrior he was, to become the hero he was born to be.

His name is Nathan Shepherd, and he remembers.

About Paul:
A child at heart who turned to writing and roleplaying games when there simply weren't enough action figures to play out the stories he wanted, Paul Anthony Shortt has been writing all his life.

Growing up surrounded by music, film and theatre gave him a deep love of all forms of storytelling, each teaching him something new he could use. When not playing with the people in his head, he enjoys cooking and regular meet-ups with his gaming group.

He lives in Ireland with his wife Jen and their dogs, Pepper and Jasper. Their first child, Conor William Henry Shortt, was born on July 11th, 2011. He passed away three days later, but brought love and joy into their lives and those of their friends. Jen is pregnant again and is expecting twins.

Website: http://paulanthonyshortt.blogspot.com